Plants respond to attacks by herbivores with various defences, which are mounted through the activation of different biochemical pathways that are known to interact. Thus, the attack of a plant by one herbivore species may result in changes in the performances of other species on the same plant. It has been suggested that species with comparable feeding modes induce similar plant defences and such herbivores are therefore expected to have a negative effect on each other’s performance. We studied two closely related phytophagous mite species with identical feeding modes. Yet, one of the species (Tetranychus urticae) induces tomato plant defences, whereas the other (T. evansi) reduces them. We found that the “inducing” species benefits from the downregulation of defences by the “reducing” species, which, in turn, suffers from the induction of defences by the inducing species. Moreover, the performances of the two mite species on leaves that were previously attacked by both species simultaneously were intermediate between that on leaves previously attacked by each of the mites separately. The activity of proteinase inhibitor, a defensive compound, was not found to be intermediate in leaves attacked by both species simultaneously—it was almost as high as the activity seen in leaves with defences induced by T. urticae. Oviposition rates of T. urticae showed a nonlinear correlation with inhibitor activity, suggesting that it is potentially problematic to use this activity as an indicator of the level of plant defence. Our results show that herbivores with similar feeding modes have opposite effects on plant defence and differentially affect each other’s performance on co-infested plants.

It is well known that herbivore-induced plant defenses alter host plant quality and can affect the behavior and performance of later arriving herbivores. Effects of sequential attacks by herbivores that either suppress or induce plant defenses are less well studied. We sequentially infested leaves of tomato plants with a strain of the phytophagous spider mite Tetranychus urticae that induces plant defenses and the closely related Tetranychus evansi, which suppresses plant defenses. Plant quality was quantified through oviposition of both spider mite species and by measuring proteinase inhibitor activity using plant material that had been sequentially attacked by both herbivore species. Spider-mite oviposition data show that T. evansi could suppress an earlier induction of plant defenses by T. urticae, and T. urticae could induce defenses in plants previously attacked by T. evansi in 1 day. Longer attacks by the second species did not result in further changes in oviposition. Proteinase inhibitor activity levels showed that T. evansi suppressed the high activity levels induced by T. urticae to constitutive levels in 1 day, and further suppressed activity to levels similar to those in plants attacked by T. evansi alone. Attacks by T. urticae induced proteinase inhibitor activity in plants previously attacked by T. evansi, eventually to similar levels as induced by T. urticae alone. Hence, plant quality and plant defenses were significantly affected by sequential attacks and the order of attack does not affect subsequent performance, but does affect proteinase inhibitor activity levels. Based on our results, we discuss the evolution of suppression of plant defenses.

O artigo em questão possui como tema a utilização da literatura nativa no ensino de história. De forma que as obras escritas e produzidas por indígenas são elementos essenciais de resistência desses povos, que buscam romper com estereótipos e denunciar violências. Sendo assim, a interrelação entre essa produção literária dentro das aulas de história nas escolas de ensino básico, auxiliariam nesse processo de discussão e reelaboração de uma nova metodologia de educação. Assim, podendo ser efetivado uma aula que vá além dos livros didáticos e que promova debates que viabilizam a quebra de rotulações. De modo, que as diferenças sejam respeitadas e os processos de opressões realizadas para com esses povos indígenas consigam ser abordadas. Em um procedimento que tenha como foco, o rever as ideias europeizadas e coloniais que vem excluindo grupos e ações de violências, em detrimento de uma narrativa que vem priorizando apenas a classe que é chamada de “dominante”.